Dear Future Cornerstone Students

As a member of Cornerstone, you have the unique opportunity to be in a classroom with like-minded students all in pursuit of the same goal. Use this to your advantage. Make the most of this opportunity and don't be afraid to answer questions or get involved. Best of luck as you continue your academic journey in Cornerstone! 

- Jack Koubek

Dear Future Cornerstone Students,

First congratulations on already being in Cornerstone, that already is a testament to you and your capabilities! You are in a program that will elevate your experience these next four years, and will help you grow into a well-rounded student. I encourage you to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. These past four years Cornerstone was a community that really helped me kickstart my experience here at CUA, and has helped me to grow and truly thrive here. I hope for you, you find the same type of community and support. I would advise you to take advantage of the programs of being a mentee and mentor; but also to make those connections and o to the teas because those are people who will be able to connect with you and have a shared experience with you at your time at CUA. I know that you will do great things in the future!

Best,

MaggieMae

Being a Cornerstone student is being a student of human expression - a student of life explored over centuries of history, literature, and the arts.

I would say to take advantage of living with fellow like-minded Cornerstone students your freshman year. Building those relationships freshman year will allow them to continue and grow throughout the rest of college, and could even turn into some of your best friends! 

- Keli Georges

Everything will work out. You are not behind compared to your peers. Keep moving forward on the path that you are on, and have faith in yourself and in God.

Cornerstone is a wonderful community that emphasizes curiosity and friendship in the classroom 

- Katie S.

By being a Cornerstone student and committing to a study of humanities alongside your own major and minor fields, you are tying yourself to the lifeblood of the human experience. You will engage with the texts and ideas that have driven the human race forward for centuries against all odds. A Cornerstone student is a student of life explored.

- Amelia "Millie" Bamsey

Cornerstone students,

Have opinions, know how to defend them, ask questions, and DO THE READINGS!

Sincerely,

Anthony Graf

Take advantage of this great opportunity! Cornerstone is such a welcoming environment of like-minded individuals, so make sure to get involved.

Dear Cornerstone Student,

Welcome!! I'm so excited for you to experience all the wonderful academic and social opportunities that the Cornerstone program offers, especially since this program is not like just any other scholar's program! The academic requirements are pretty chill--there are only a few additional required classes, they're very intellectual and discussion-based, and I would say probably most people felt like these classes were a break with all their other classes going on!

Of course, the social part is probably the most fun aspect of this program :). Casual tea parties!! Super fun holiday and semester parties--it's all wonderful! The community is awesome--a lot of unique personalities lol :):) This community features all types of majors, so you will surely get to know so many people!!!

Cornerstone is not only a vibe, it is also true to its principles. I feel that I have grown as a leader in ways I never thought I would!

Good luck with your time at CUA, you're going to rock it!!!

Being a part of the Cornerstone Program has been one of the highlights of my undergraduate experience.

Learning through discussion, through reading, through asking questions and understanding that there is not necessarily always going to be a single concrete answer but the pursuit of uncovering truth is what it’s all about.

That process makes my heart flutter… makes my soul fulfilled.

Human beings have a tough time grasping reality beyond the mere appearance of things - but digging beyond the surface - through reading, writing, and conversing is truly a gift I am honored to have been a part of.

- Miranda Calderon

Being a Cornerstone student was truly a unique experience - one that I do not think I could have found anywhere else. It shaped my education in impactful ways, encouraging me to stay curious, ask questions, and think deeply. The coursework always felt meaningful, and both my teachers and classmates made the experience even more enriching. It is something I will always carry with me, and I am genuinely grateful to have been a part of the first official graduating class of Cornerstone students! 

- Elizabeth Beavers

Be strong and imaginative, don’t look at life at face value!

Dear future Cornerstone students,

Congratulations! You are about to embark on one of the most rewarding aspects of your college career: the Cornerstone Program! Candidly, the Cornerstone Program was the deciding factor that led me to attend CUA and I could not thank my high school senior self any more for making that choice almost four years ago. The community Cornerstone offers is unparalleled, but it is truly the classroom experiences that make the program as incredible as it is. Being surrounded by driven peers with a similar passion for education is something I hope you never take for granted. Never be afraid to ask a question or raise your hand, even if you do not have the answer. Everyone in the program, both faculty and students, are always in your corner and rooting for your success. Attend as many Cornerstone events you can, even when you feel tired or overwhelmed by other obligations - those are easily some of the best memories during my time at CUA! Enjoy every moment, it goes by fast.

Best of luck,

Arianna Salerno

Live passionately and fearlessly. Allow your intellectual curiosity to break open echo chambers and drive you to be a unifier. Tackle every challenge in your four years with unwavering passion in the pursuit of legacy. You will emerge an entirely new person.

- Felipe Avila, Cornerstone Scholar '26

Dear future Cornerstone student,

The most important thing to realize as a Cornerstone student is that you aren't studying merely history or old books; you’re studying the human design. We live in a moment of unignorable destabilization, in which our politics are in turmoil and the rise of AI and genetic engineering make us wonder what, if anything, about humanity stays the same.

When you read a text from 500 years ago, you will find a character struggling with the exact same things you are: the desire for belonging, the fear of failure, the intoxication of power, the complexity of love. By thinking the thoughts of Plato, Homer, and Martin Luther King Jr., you come to understand the idea that some things are true regardless of the century. In doing so, you develop your moral imagination, you develop the ability to see life through the eyes of someone in most ways completely different from you.

Cornerstone also gives you the chance to sit with your peers and ask the difficult questions about our own time. Because you’ve seen how humans used to live and think, you can see your own world more clearly. It enables you to discuss questions like: What has changed for the better? Perhaps it’s that we have a wider circle of empathy and a deeper commitment to individual dignity than many of the authors we read. But then again, it also must be questioned: What has changed for the worse? Perhaps we have more “connection” through technology, but do we have the same depth of community found in these older texts? We have more information, but do we have more wisdom? In Cornerstone, you’ll get to discuss with your peers about whether modern connectivity has actually made us lonelier than the characters we’re reading about. It’s a chance to look at the world for both its progress and its losses.

When you’re in a discussion, don't be afraid to bring up your own life or what you notice around you. These books are meant to be used to help you navigate your own relationships and your own future career. By mastering these discussions, you develop an articulacy and clarity that will set you apart beyond college, regardless of the discipline you’re in.

Ultimately, you are entering this program at a time when deep reading, careful writing, critical thinking, and nuanced discussion are often discredited or replaced by algorithms. In a world that prioritizes speed over depth, being a Cornerstone student is an act of reclamation. It is a necessary reminder that some things cannot be summarized or automated. By committing to these texts and to each other, you are protecting the very skills that make us human, and you are learning to think for yourself in a world that is increasingly trying to do the thinking for you.

Please enjoy it and then bring it into the world, bring it to others.

Sincerely,

Lydia Griffin